Marvel Comics

It turns out the DC Universe is home to almost as many versions of the Avengers as its Marvel counterpart!

DC and Marvel, the “Big Two” of comic book publishing, are bitter rivals – or are they? Certainly, that’s what their respective fan bases would have you believe. Take a closer look at the behavior of both publishers, and it becomes clear that the competition between them is more friendly than acrimonious.

Need proof? Look no further than the sheer number of Marvel-related Easter eggs hidden in DC stories over the years. Hardly the actions of writers and artists with an axe to grind!

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Not only did virtually every writer and artist at DC grow up reading comics by Marvel, most have since gone on to work for both publishers. As such, they tend to have as much affection for the Marvel Universe as they do for DC, and express this through subtle references sneakily woven into their stories.

It’s not just comics creators doing it, either. The creative team behind the “Arrowverse” – DC’s shared universe of TV shows – has been getting in on the act too, with shout-outs to Marvel cropping up in several recent episodes.

With this in mind, here are 20 Marvel Easter Eggs Hidden In DC Stories.

Unlike in the real world, in comics, death is rarely the end. Over the course of nearly a century of superheroics, almost every crimefighter who ever slapped on a mask or pulled on a cape has died (or appeared to die) – only to return from the grave further down the line.

Indeed, we’re at the point now where the very concept of death has lost virtually all meaning within the confines of the genre. After all, why bother getting upset over the death of your favorite do-gooder, when they’re almost certain to be back on their feet again in a year’s time?

And so it is that we find ourselves in the unusual scenario where it’s only when a superhero bites the bullet and doesn’t recover that we consider it remarkable. It’s easy to forget that this does happen from time to time. Sadly, it turns out not every hero gets a do-over. Conversely, there are some heroes that have undertaken the death/rebirth cycle so often that even their allies barely bother organizing a funeral!

With this in mind, here is a round-up of 12 Superheroes Who Died And Stayed Dead (And 8 Who Won’t Stop Coming Back).

Comic books have a proud tradition of inventing incredible substances that possess unique properties real-world manufacturers can only dream about. Of these, one of the most amazing is vibranium, one of the rarest and most precious metals found in the Marvel Universe.

Used in the fabrication of such iconic items as Captain America’s shield and Black Panther’s suit of mesh armor, vibranium is quite literally an out of this world material. Crashing to Earth as a meteorite millennia ago, this extraterrestrial metal comes in several varieties, each with its own remarkable attributes.

Of these, the most well-known (and highly coveted) is that found in the African nation Wakanda, the home of Black Panther and his people. Other types include Antarctic vibranium (also known as “Anti-Metal”) and artificial vibranium – man-made substitutes like NuForm and Reverbium, both of which are far less stable than the real deal.

With Black Panther pouncing into cinemas – and vibranium playing a key part in proceedings – we thought now was as good a time as ever to pull together a handy primer on the properties of this fantastic metal.

In many ways, the role of a superhero (or supervillain) sidekick is a thankless task. You get less recognition from the public – both in the fictional universe you inhabit, as well as in the real world – while your more famous boss hogs all the limelight.

On the face of it, sidekicks playing second fiddle makes a certain amount of sense. After all, not only is it their role to support their more experienced mentors, but sidekicks are also traditionally the less powerful element of their respective crimefighting (or crime-committing) partnership.

But that isn’t always the case. Indeed, many comic book support acts actually boast abilities and skills as impressive as those of the spandex-clad headliners they assist, if not even more so. Time and again, these poor souls struggle to escape the shadows cast by their superhero and villain head honchos – even when they finally break out on their own.

In honor of these unsung heroes (and as a tip of the hat to their villainous counterparts), we’ve pulled together this list of 16 Sidekicks Way Stronger Than Their Superheroes.Let no one ever mistake these talented guys and gals for mere human shields or cringing cronies again!

Over the course of nine years, 22 films (including shorts) and 10 TV shows, Marvel Studios has wowed fans by creating a shared cinematic universe to rival its comics counterpart. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is – much like its source material – built around telling interconnected, ongoing stories that branch across several franchise installments. Sure, some MCU entries fit into this bigger picture better than others, but broadly speaking, all of Marvel’s properties are tied together, and regularly introduce (or further develop) narrative threads designed to pay-off further down the line.

To its credit, Marvel has done a pretty good job of making everything fit together, considering how many different sub-franchises are in production at any given moment. Even so, cracks in this supposedly unified front have started to show as the MCU has expanded – heck, not even the in-universe timeline makes sense anymore!

That’s not the only thing that’s gone awry, either. While Marvel has done a great job of keeping its major, predominantly Avengers–related narrative elements bubbling along nicely, the studio has also ditched several others along the way. The reasons for this vary – maybe the filmmakers involved convinced the studio to go in a different direction, or perhaps the actors required were no longer available.

However it turns out the criteria for worthiness – originally laid down by Odin – are more than a little vague. Indeed, more than a few individuals have proven themselves able to swing Mjolnir despite their apparent lack of merit, suggesting the All-Father didn’t quite think the whole thing through properly!

Time and again, the hammer has been handled by people who clearly don’t deserve its awesome power. More often than not, these superheroes and villains have gotten their mitts on Mjolnir by craftily exploiting loopholes within the wording of Odin’s spell.

Other times, their ability to utilize the Marvel Universe’s most impressive building implement is down to a dubious manipulation of physics or other elemental forces. And then there are baffling instances where someone bearing Mjolnir actually does appear to meet Odin’s standards, only to have that privilege revoked by a seemingly fickle All-Father!

No matter how it happens, all that really matters is that despite the best efforts of Thor and his Pops, occasionally Mjolnir finds itself falling into the wrong hands, which is why we’ve pulled together this list of 15 Most Unworthy People To Wield Thor’s Hammer!

I like to picture these guys at opposite ends of the same chessboard right now…

Given comics is a largely serialized medium, it’s not surprising that its history is filled with brilliant – and not-so-brilliant! – plot twists. After all, what better way to entice readers to read the next chapter than with an earth-shattering last page cliffhanger that leaves them thinking “How are they ever gonna resolve this?!”

There’s also few things more rewarding as a fan than seeing a meticulously crafted – and cleverly hidden – plot twist come to fruition. It’s the thrill of being surprised, combined with the satisfaction of knowing that the writer involved has played fair by providing ample little hints in the lead up to the big reveal.

Of course, some comic book plot twists are better executed than others. Indeed, more than a few have fallen flat, often because they either made no sense, or actively damaged decades worth of stories that proceeded them.

In instances like these, it sometimes seems like the twist was designed more from a shock value point of view, rather than as a payoff designed to enrich past and future adventures. Still, regardless of whether a major comic book reveal was outstanding or underwhelming, they’re almost always memorable.

With this in mind, we’ve taken a look back at 20 of comic’s biggest narrative surprises, in order to round up this list of the 10 Best (And 10 Worst) Comic Book Plot Twists of all time.